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Part II: Beg/Borrow/Steal - Book Sharing and Borrowing

In many cases, you don’t necessarily need to purchase a copy of a book outright. That’s where a second group of entities come in - book swapping sites and the staid institution known as your local public library.

Book Swapping Sites

In the online book swapping arena, there are a few good places out there that allow you to do pretty similar functions. The premise behind them is that you list the books you have and want to swap. If someone wants to request a book from you, they do so and you are notified. You can then choose whether you want to send them the book or no. If you want to send it, you just send it to them (you pay the postage, but no cash is exchanged). You then get credit that you can use to request books from others. It’s a fascinating concept and it works surprisingly well.

BookMooch: This is the only one I’ve used personally - I’ve had great success with it and highly recommend it.

WhatsOnMyBookshelf*

Read It Swap It (UK)*

Title Trader *

* I have not used these sites personally, but have seen good reviews for them around the web. They seem to be pretty well established communities.

Advantages:

• You can trade books you don’t want anymore for books that you do want - allowing you to get rid of those unused books easily.

• Again, you help the environment by reusing resources/not driving to the bookstore

Disadvantages:

• You have to give to get - you can’t just leech off of others, you must list your own items as well.

• You have to physically ship the book on your own dime - it isn’t very expensive usually, but it’s a factor.

The Library

If all of this talk of online shopping/swapping is making your head spin/you don’t have the cash to spend - your local library can be your best friend. Depending on your location, many libraries have very good selections of titles ranging from novels to non-fiction to biographies and everything in between. They often have books on tape/CD as well. In addition, some libraries have entered into circulation agreements with neighboring communities to allow sharing of resources - for example, in Michigan you can request books from libraries around the state via a service called MeLCaT. Check to see if your local/campus library is involved in something like that - you can leverage the power of multiple libraries to find a ton of items that might not otherwise be available.

Library Related Resources

UNESCO Libraries Portal: Has a vast collection of links/information on libraries around the world.

lib-web-cats: Directory of information about libraries - primarily focuses on North America, but some international listings are here.

WorldCat - Searches libraries around the world to find items and displays where they are located.

Advantages:

• Borrowing from the library is free, as it is usually supported by taxes or tuition.

• They often have access to research databases that cost mega-$$$, such as LexisNexis.

• It’s a good place to relax in relative quiet.
• Librarians are available to help you out in your quest for knowledge.

Disadvantages:

• You usually have to physically go to the library to access materials.

• Some types of books are not well represented/editions can be out of date.

• Overdue fines can add up quickly if you aren’t careful.

Hopefully this little series helped you out. Happy reading!

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